New Study - Vitamin D and Cancer Survival

Cancer patients who had higher levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D were linked with better survival rates and longer remission than those who are vitamin D-deficient.

The findings were published in July 2014 in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The meta-analysis reviewed 25 studies that measured vitamin D levels at or near the time of diagnosis in 17,332 cancer patients. The authors found that patients with higher vitamin D levels were linked with better outcomes in a several cancer types.

Strongest connections were found for breast cancer, lymphoma and colorectal cancer, and less strongly for patients with Merkel cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, leukemia, lung cancer, and melanoma.

Every 10 nmol/L increase in 25(OH)D was linked to a 4% increase in cancer patient survival overall.

In a press release published by the Endocrine Society, one author of the study Hui Wang, MD, PhD remarked:

“Considering that vitamin D deficiency is a widespread issue all over the world, it is important to ensure that everyone has sufficient levels of this important nutrient [...] Physicians need to pay close attention to vitamin D levels in people who have been diagnosed with cancer.”

This is no surprise as Vitamin D is actually a hormone that does much more for the body than just calcium and bone health.

There are receptors for Vitamin D on every known tissue type, and it is an important immune modulator.

When your immune system is not functioning optimally, it can set the stage for cancer development. Many natural protocols for cancer care already target the immune system. Because of its widespread modulating properties, your vitamin D level is a critical component of any immune protocol.